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Italian village celebrates first birth in 8 years

The inhabitants of Italy’s smallest village are celebrating their newest addition, Denis. He is the first baby born in 8 years in that mountainous village. Denis was born in Alessandro Manzoni hospital in Lecco, weighing 2.6kg. His parents Mateo and Sara followed the Italian tradition of placing a blue ribbon to announce the birth of their baby boy. It is the first time such a ribbon has been seen in the village since 2012, when a baby girl was born.

“It wasn’t easy to be pregnant during a pandemic,” Sara had said to Corriere, the Italian news agency. “You were unable to go out or go and see loved ones.” She said there would be a party once the family returns from the hospital. “We will welcome everyone with open arms … It’s exciting that my little one will be among the inhabitants of Morterone, and increasing, even if only slightly, the population.”

The Guardian reported that The population of Morterone, a mountainous community in Lombardy, became 29, after the birth of Denis earlier this week. It had been 28 until Sunday, ever since the death of Invernizzi’s father.

Morterone is Italy smallest municipality because of its population. Denis’ birth is a welcome addition to Italy’s declining birth rate. Last year saw its lowest number of babies born at 4,20,170.

 

Where Does The Opposition Stand Today?

When we talk of 2020, it has been one of the shakiest year with the pandemic disrupting every aspect of life. In these six months, along with the pandemic, the world is experiencing other geographic and environmental fluctuations.

So, what about Indian Politics this year? Well politics in India has also shown many surprises and unexpected turnsthis year. When we talk about politics of India in 2020 it has been nothing less than a gripping suspense movie with all sorts of drama and surprises unfolding in front of public each day. We saw change in government in Madhya Pradesh, a revolt in Rajasthan, an on-going power tussle in Maharashtra.

One thing we all should accept is that BJP gave tough fight to every opposition at all fronts. Even in Maharashtra where BJP is in opposition it took many stands and never stopped working unlike the Congress whic seems directionless, weaker in strength and wasting most of its time and energy in solving their internal fights.

Many frictions in the party can be seen and revolts taking place. Mr.Scindia is a big example.

How Sanjay Jha, Gehlot and Pilot are busy in their own frictions within party is not a secret anymore. We can see the outrage on the social media platforms too.

In democracy opposition is not meant to be weak or not to be termed as a failed party. It is important that the opposition has the government on its feet.

Then what is keeping the Congress which claims to be the oldest political party and the largest opposition party now, seem to be scattered and directionless?

It seems they have taken the word “opposition” in literal meaning. All they have been doing is opposing every move of the government without facts, solutions and even if it goes against national interest – be it CAA, abrogation of Article 370, or the India-China standoff.

When it comes to economy which has been in trouble for some time due to a combination of factors that includes major global slug, the ex-chief of Congress only came up with many questions but never came with any solution. While the government called the all-party meeting and clarified the Indian government’s response on the Galwan Valley, Rahul Gadhi resorted to unwarrant politics over it withouth proper facts. He got trolled even by other parties like TMC and YSR Congress for his incomplete facts while putting allegations on government. Even with recent activities he seems to be confused whether he wants to be a political leader or a Youtuber.

When we see the public views on social media nobody seems to be interested in the watching interviews done by Congress leaders or even taking them seriously and this is not a sign of healthy democracy. They seem to be more and more away from the pulse of the nation. This shows their lack of leadership and disconnect with ground.

This raises the question – is it the beginning of the end of the grand old political party or will we see them come up with new faces dismantling the dynasty that has helmed the affairs for too long and plunged the party too low? Only time will tell.

In my view opposition in 2020 stands confused, fact-less, cornered and heading towards self-destruction till now.

Haridwar’s famous ‘Har ki Pauri’ collapses due to lightning strike

Haridwar’s Har ki Pauri, the wall that demarcates the boundary between Haridwar and the sanctum sanctorum of the Brahamkund collapsed due to a lightning strike on Tuesday. This wall was built in 1935 in the British period and was struck by lightning, triggering its fall. The fall led to a scattering of debris up to the Ganga Sabha office.

Locals arrived at the spot after hearing the loud explosive sound, though there were no casualties, since this happened early in the morning.

Hindustan Times reported that Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and Ganga Sabha have demanded an inquiry into this incident at this ancient religious place in the context of the structural strength of the wall housing a pilgrimage thronged by millions every day. “Akhada Parishad demands an inquiry into this incident as Har-Ki-Pauri is a place where thousands of people arrive on a daily basis. Mahakumbh is just five months away so construction of a stronger outer wall and related infrastructure works should be carried out in such a manner that safety of pilgrims and Har-Ki-Pauri personnel is ensured, “said Mahant Narendra Giri, president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad.

Meanwhile, local priests have interpreted the collapse as a bad omen, and an expression of fury by Mother Ganges, and claim that Ganga Maa was “upset” about devotees being denied permission to bathe in the Ganges on auspicious occasion of Somwati Amavasya.

Indian electrical equipment industry shows the finger to China with mass cancellation of orders, heeds to the call of Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat

In a show of patriotism and solidarity, India’s electrical and electronic equipment industry has started a mass-cancellation of import orders from Chinese companies. This is in lew of China’s recent action that led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers who were killed in the Galwan Valley.

India imports most of its electrical and electronic components from China but are now willing to scout newer locations to import raw materials regardless of higher cost, Economic Times reported.

Many countries have complaints against China for its trade policy, wherein they keep the prices of there goods artificially low. This has led to many companies facing a hostile takeover from Chinese companies that work in tandem with the Communist party.

India has a massive demand for power distribution and transmission gears but many companies have already cancelled orders after being inspired by the vocal-for-local (Atmanirbhar Bharat) campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote indigenous manufacturing.

R K Chugh is the president of the Indian Electrical & Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) and he said there is strong momentum to turn towards friendlier nations like Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Germany to fulfil our import needs.

As China is facing some of the worst floods in the last few decades, such unity shown by Indian businesses would be a gut punch. Already telecom giant Huawei is being shown the door by many nations.

Zoom zooms into Bengaluru

Zoom, a video conferencing platform has announced to set up a technology centre in Bengaluru. 

It is expected to support its current research and development centres and engineering leadership.

Zoom is planning to recruit engineers from DevOps for business operations, handling security and Information Technology.

As of now, employees will work from home to prevent contraction of COVID-19.

They are also planning to hire for the company’s legal and Human Resource departments. 

According to President of Product and Engineering, Velchamy Sankarlingam, the company is planning to focus on delivering the best communications experience. 

He added that they are looking forward to expanding their operations in Bengaluru considering the immense technology hub calling the talent of the city “exceptional.” 

With its headquarters in Mumbai, it plans to expand further with two data centres in Hyderabad and Mumbai. 

Chief Executive Officer of Zoom, Eric S. Yuan is proud to deliver free services to educational institutions in India and are hoping to work with India even after the pandemic subsides. 

Aparna Bawa, COO at Zoom said that they are constantly communicating with the Government. 

She added that they “want to take as much feedback as we can and innovate and make Zoom feature-rich, easy to use and very safe.”

Source: News Minute

 

Indian Air Force Seeks Made-In-India Missile Defence System, Does Not Want High-Priced American NASAMS-II

As per the requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the indigenous multi-tiered Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) program that includes medium and long-range surface-to-air elements is the preferred choice over the US-made NASAMS-II networked air defence system, Livefist has reported.

This missile defence system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and had successfully completed its first development phase and is expected to be deployed sometime in 2022.

Though the Indian government is into negotiations with the Americans, the process however faces obstacles, mainly due to the high price being quoted by the Americans.

The BMD program has been in development for the last 20 years and the IAF is willing to invest resources in its development.

The BMD has endo-atmospheric Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor and the exo-atmospheric Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) systems.

India has already agreed to buy the Russian long-range S-400 missile defence system. The Indian government has requested its Russian counterparts to speed up delivery.

The Indian side of the border has been witnessing increasing drills and exercises being done by the Indian armed forces over the past few weeks.

Kerala gold scam knocks CMO’s doors

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has switched its probe in the gold smuggling case to the terror funding angle, and this has struck fear in the heart of the Kerala Chief Minister. The chair of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stands threatened, as his name has been dragged down in the gold smuggling scam.

The National Investigation Agency arrested the prime accused of the case whilst they had been on the run and cited that this case might have serious implications on national security. The accused were then booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Pinarayi Vijayan has been under the radar ever since the CMO’s intervention in the “diplomatic cargo” case to clear the names of Swapna Suresh and her accomplices. Despite the fact that the Chief Minister has been maintaining that Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) was responsible for Swapna’s appointment, the fact remains that the call records point in the opposite direction.

The CM has also been constantly in defence of his close associate Sivasankar, who is considered to be one of the the top guns in this case. Many consider this as a returning of favour, since he had defended Vijayan when the Sprinklr data scam had thrown the LDF government under the bus earlier this year. Following this, there have been constant rallies and protests by the opposition calling for Vijayan’s resignation, as reported by the Organiser. 

Netizens gush over man who scaled hospital wall to say goodbye to dying mother

Jihad Al-Suwaiti, the Palestinian who bid farewell to his mother by climbing up the wall of the ICU has been trending online. His mother, Rasmi Suwaiti, 73, passed away on July 16 due to COVID-19, right after her son had visited. He had scaled the wall of the ICU and had sat on the window sill giving his mother company. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to enter. Just to say a final goodbye, he had to climb the hospital window.

Rasmi Suwaiti had been admitted to the Hebron State Hospital on July 11th, and had spent 5 days in the ICU. She had also been having leukaemia before testing positive for the novel coronavirus infection, reported the Republic.

In spite of all the restrictions that have been placed with respect to visiting patients who have been isolated due to coronavirus, the act of this dutiful son has won hearts all over the world.

This image became viral after Mohammed Safa, the CEO of Patriotic Vision and a United Nations representative, shared this on Twitter along with an illustration. In the tweet, he had described how Suwaiti had been visiting his mother every single day until the day she had passed away.

Oxford University’s COVID study shows promise

The vaccine study that is being conducted by global pharma giant AstraZeneca in collaboration with a research team at Oxford University has shown great promise in its very first human trials.

Indian Express reported that the vaccine increased levels of both protective neutralizing antibodies and immune T-cells that target the virus, according to the study organizers. The results were published Monday in The Lancet medical journal. “We are seeing very good immune responses, not just on neutralizing antibodies but of T-cells as well,” said Adrian Hill, head of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, in an interview. “We’re stimulating both arms of the immune system”, he added.

Following this, AstraZeneca’s shares shot up by 10% after this announcement, but gave up much of gain to trade 0.6% higher as researchers cautioned that the results were preliminary.

AstraZeneca has signed a deal with the US as well as several countries in the EU to deliver several million doses by the end of this year. The UK has also signed a deal, though it is expected to receive its shipment much later than its counterparts. It secured deals with BioNTech, Pfizer and Valneva SE following this. There are over 160 teams all over the world who are currently researching a corona-virus vaccine.

 

TN Cyber Cell cracks the whip on Karuppar Koottam, all videos of Karuppar Koottam taken down for now

After widespread outrage over Karuppar Koottam’s abusive videos on Hindus and Hindu Gods, the Tamil Nadu Cyber Cell has taken down all the videos of the rabid Youtube channel.

It is said that Youtube India has also promised to take down the channel in toto.

Apart from this, the cybercrime branch has arrested two other members of the Karuppar Kootam identified as Somasundaram and Guna.

Earlier, the police arrested Senthilvasan Muthusamy who shared closed ties with the DMK. Surendar Natarajan who anchored the show Aabasa Puranam surrendered at the Ariyankuppam police station in Puducherry and was later sent to judicial custody.

Karuppar Koottam is a group of “Periyarists” (followers of E.V. Ramasamy Naicker known by his followers as Periyar), Communist ideologues and DMK sympathizers. They have been indulging in targeted attacks against Hindus posting videos abusing Hindu Gods, Hindus and Brahmins for a long time under the garb of ‘rationalism’. In the series titled “Aabasa Puranam” (Porn Puranam), members of the Karuppar Kootam (especially Surendhar Natarajan) use vulgar language and trash-talk Hindu Gods like Murugan, Saraswathi, Brahma, etc.

While the DMK has denied any connection between the party and Karuppar Koottam, Pictures have surfaced that establishes the close relationship shared by Karuppar Koottam and the DMK.